Wirelessly powered sensor system

ABSTRACT

A sensing system includes a sensor, a wireless transmission system, a wireless receiver system, and a controller. The sensor is configured to determine sensor data, the sensor data associated with a sensing environment. The wireless transmission system is configured to wirelessly couple with the sensor, the wireless transmission system configured for wirelessly providing significant electrical energy to the sensor as wireless power signals and receive the sensor data as in-band data signals encoded in the wireless power signals. The wireless receiver system is operatively associated with the sensor and with which the wireless transmission system couples with the sensor and is configured to receive the significant electrical energy as the wireless power signals from the wireless transmission system. The controller is operatively associated with the wireless transmission system and is configured to decode the in-band signals from the wireless power signals as the sensor data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S.application Ser. No. 17/164,515, filed on Feb. 1, 2021 and entitled“WIRELESSLY POWERED SENSOR SYSTEM,” which is incorporated by referencein its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to sensors and/or sensingsystems, and, more particularly, to sensors and/or sensing systems thatare wirelessly powered and wirelessly provide sensor data.

BACKGROUND

In modern times, sensors and/or sensing systems exist in almost everyaspect of daily life. Consumer electronics, appliances, computers,professional equipment, industrial or enterprise equipment, among otherthings, all rely on more and more advanced sensors to adequately andaccurately determine and process data for systems thereof.

As new forms and/or formerly difficult to determine/detect data are alldesired to perform new functions or enhance previous functions invarious products, new and/or unconventional placement of sensors, withina host or associated device, may be limited due to the necessity ofelectrical connection. Because most sensors are active components,needing electrical power, even at low levels, to perform its sensingtask, sensors, generally, will need either a wired conductive electricalconnection or a battery connected to the sensor for powering the sensor.

Wired electrical connections may limit sensors, wherein it is to belocated in a position on the host or associated device that isimpossible or impractical to provide a wire thereto. Batteries can limitsensors, as no battery has an infinite power source and will eventuallydrain, plus batteries may add excess bulk to small sensors meant fortight placement in a host or associated device. Further still, even witha battery, some other connection, be it wired or wireless will be neededto get data from the sensor to a device or component exterior to thesensor itself.

Summary

Thus, wireless connection and/or power systems are desired to eliminatephysical power/data connectors and provide more positional freedom forsuch sensors. Further, a wireless connector that provides power to thesensor, while capable of receiving data from the sensor via a commonwireless connection may solve many modern issues with new, hard-to-placesensors.

Such wireless connection systems are used in a variety of applicationsfor the wireless transfer of electrical energy, electrical power,electromagnetic energy, electrical data signals, among other knownwirelessly transmittable signals. Such systems often use inductiveand/or resonant inductive wireless power transfer, which occurs whenmagnetic fields created by a transmitting element induce an electricfield and, hence, an electric current, in a receiving element. Thesetransmitting and receiving elements will often take the form of coiledwires and/or antennas.

Transmission of one or more of electrical energy, electrical power,electromagnetic energy and/or electronic data signals from one of suchcoiled antennas to another, generally, operates at an operatingfrequency and/or an operating frequency range. The operating frequencymay be selected for a variety of reasons, such as, but not limited to,power transfer characteristics, power level characteristics,self-resonant frequency restraints, design requirements, adherence tostandards bodies' required characteristics (e.g. electromagneticinterference (EMI) requirements, specific absorption rate (SAR)requirements, among other things), bill of materials (BOM), and/or formfactor constraints, among other things. It is to be noted that,“self-resonating frequency,” as known to those having skill in the art,generally refers to the resonant frequency of a passive component (e.g.,an inductor) due to the parasitic characteristics of the component.

When such systems operate to wirelessly transfer power from atransmission system to a receiver system, via the coils and/or antennas,it is often desired to simultaneously or intermittently communicateelectronic data from one system to the other. To that end, a variety ofcommunications systems, methods, and/or apparatus have been utilized forcombined wireless power and wireless data transfer. In some examplesystems, wireless power transfer related communications (e.g.,validation procedures, electronic characteristics data communications,voltage data, current data, device type data, among other contemplateddata communications) are performed using other circuitry, such as anoptional Near Field Communications (NFC) antenna utilized to complimentthe wireless power system and/or additional Bluetooth chipsets for datacommunications, among other known communications circuits and/orantennas.

However, using additional antennas and/or circuitry can give rise toseveral disadvantages. For instance, using additional antennas and/orcircuitry can be inefficient and/or can increase the BOM of a wirelesspower system, which raises the cost for putting wireless power into anelectronic device. Further, in some such systems, out of bandcommunications provided by such additional antennas may result ininterference, such as cross-talk between the antennas; such cross talkmay present challenges in. Further yet, inclusion of such additionalantennas and/or circuitry can result in worsened EMI, as introduction ofthe additional system will cause greater harmonic distortion, incomparison to a system wherein both a wireless power signal and a datasignal are within the same channel. Still further, inclusion ofadditional antennas and/or circuitry hardware, for communications orincreased charging or powering area, may increase the area within adevice, for which the wireless power systems and/or components thereofreside, complicating a build of an end product.

Thus, low cost and/or low BOM demodulation circuits that allow for fastand accurate in-band communications are desired.

The demodulation circuit of the wireless power transmitters disclosedherein is a relatively inexpensive and/or simplified circuit utilizedto, at least partially, decode or demodulate ASK signals down to alertsfor rising and falling edges of a data signal. So long as thetransmission controller 28 is programmed to understand the coding schemaof the ASK modulation, the transmission controller will expend far lesscomputational resources than it would if it had to decode the leadingand falling edges directly from an input current or voltage sense signalfrom the sensing system. To that end, as the computational resourcesrequired by the transmission controller to decode the wireless datasignals are significantly decreased due to the inclusion of thedemodulation circuit. Thus, it follows, that the demodulation circuitmay significantly reduce BOM of the wireless transmission system, byallowing usage of cheaper, less computationally capable processor(s) foror with the transmission controller.

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a sensing system for adevice is disclosed. The sensing system includes a sensor, a wirelesstransmission system, a wireless receiver system, and a controller. Thesensor is configured to determine sensor data, the sensor dataassociated with a sensing environment, the sensing environment of orassociated with the device. The wireless transmission system isconfigured to wirelessly couple with the sensor, the wirelesstransmission system configured for wirelessly providing significantelectrical energy to the sensor as wireless power signals and receivethe sensor data as in-band data signals encoded in the wireless powersignals. The wireless receiver system is operatively associated with thesensor and with which the wireless transmission system couples with thesensor and is configured to receive the significant electrical energy asthe wireless power signals from the wireless transmission system. Thecontroller is operatively associated with the wireless transmissionsystem and is configured to decode the in-band signals from the wirelesspower signals as the sensor data.

In a refinement, the device is a host device and the sensor is providedwithin the host device and the sensing environment is within the hostdevice.

In a refinement, the device is an associated device and the sensingdevice is external to the associated device.

In a refinement, the wireless transmission system includes a transmitterantenna, a current sensor, and a demodulation circuit. The transmitterantenna is configured to couple with a receiver antenna of the wirelessreceiver system and transmit alternating current (AC) wireless signalsto the at least one antenna, the AC wireless signals including thewireless power signals and the in-band signals, the in-band signalsgenerated by altering electrical characteristics of the AC wirelesssignals at wireless receiver system. The current sensor is configured todetect electrical information associated with the electricalcharacteristics of the AC wireless signals, the electrical informationincluding one or more of a current of the AC wireless signals, a voltageof the AC wireless signals, a power level of the AC wireless signals, orcombinations thereof. The demodulation circuit is configured to (i)receive the electrical information from the at least one sensor, (ii)detect a change in the electrical information, (iii) determine if thechange in the electrical information meets or exceeds one of a risethreshold or a fall threshold, (iv) if the change exceeds one of therise threshold or the fall threshold, generate an alert, (v) and outputa plurality of data alerts.

In a further refinement, the at least one controller is configured to(i) receive the plurality of data alerts from the demodulation circuit,and (ii) decode the plurality of data alerts into the sensor data.

In yet a further refinement, the in-band data signals are encoded by theat least one other system as amplitude shift keying (ASK) data signals.

In yet another further refinement, the wireless receiver system encodesthe in-band data signals as high threshold and low threshold voltages ofthe AC wireless signals.

In yet a further refinement, the rise threshold is associated with thehigh threshold voltage and the fall threshold is associated with the lowthreshold voltage.

In yet another further refinement, the in-band data signals are encodedas pulse width encoded in-band data signals.

In a refinement, the transmission antenna is configured to operate basedon an operating frequency of about 6.78 MHz.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a system forwirelessly receiving data from a sensor and wirelessly providing thesensor with meaningful electrical energy is disclosed. The sensor isconfigured to determine sensor data associated with a sensingenvironment, the sensing environment being of or associated with thedevice. The system includes a wireless transmission system configured towirelessly couple with a wireless receiver system of the sensor, thewireless transmission system configured for wirelessly providingsignificant electrical energy to the sensor as wireless power signalsand receive the sensor data as in-band data signals encoded in thewireless power signals. The system further includes a controlleroperatively associated with the wireless transmission system configuredto decode the in-band signals from the wireless power signals as thesensor data.

In a refinement, the device is a host device and the sensor is providedwithin the host device and the sensing environment is within the hostdevice.

In a refinement, the device is an associated device and the sensingdevice is external to the associated device.

In a refinement, the wireless transmission system includes a transmitterantenna, a current sensor, and a demodulation circuit. The transmitterantenna is configured to couple with a receiver antenna of the wirelessreceiver system and transmit alternating current (AC) wireless signalsto the at least one antenna, the AC wireless signals including thewireless power signals and the in-band signals, the in-band signalsgenerated by altering electrical characteristics of the AC wirelesssignals at wireless receiver system. The current sensor is configured todetect electrical information associated with the electricalcharacteristics of the AC wireless signals, the electrical informationincluding one or more of a current of the AC wireless signals, a voltageof the AC wireless signals, a power level of the AC wireless signals, orcombinations thereof. The demodulation circuit is configured to (i)receive the electrical information from the at least one sensor, (ii)detect a change in the electrical information, (iii) determine if thechange in the electrical information meets or exceeds one of a risethreshold or a fall threshold, (iv) if the change exceeds one of therise threshold or the fall threshold, generate an alert, (v) and outputa plurality of data alerts.

In a further refinement, the at least one controller is configured to(i) receive the plurality of data alerts from the demodulation circuit,and (ii) decode the plurality of data alerts into the sensor data.

In yet a further refinement, the in-band data signals are encoded by theat least one other system as amplitude shift keying (ASK) data signals.

In yet another further refinement, the wireless receiver system encodesthe in-band data signals as high threshold and low threshold voltages ofthe AC wireless signals.

In yet a further refinement, the rise threshold is associated with thehigh threshold voltage and the fall threshold is associated with the lowthreshold voltage.

In yet another further refinement, the in-band data signals are encodedas pulse width encoded in-band data signals.

In a refinement, the transmission antenna is configured to operate basedon an operating frequency of about 6.78 MHz.

These and other aspects and features of the present disclosure will bebetter understood when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram for a first sensing system, in accordancewith the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram for a second sensing system, in accordancewith the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system for wirelesslytransferring one or more of electrical energy, electrical power signals,electrical power, electromagnetic energy, electronic data, andcombinations thereof, in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating components of a wirelesstransmission system of FIG. 2 and a wireless receiver system of FIG. 2 ,in accordance with FIGS. 1, 2 and the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components of a transmissioncontrol system of the wireless transmission system of FIG. 3 , inaccordance with FIGS. 1 , FIG. 2 , and the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating components of a sensing system ofthe transmission control system of FIG. 4 , in accordance with FIGS. 1-4and the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram for an example low pass filter of the sensingsystem of FIG. 5 , in accordance with FIGS. 1-5 and the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating components of a demodulationcircuit for the wireless transmission system of FIGS. 3 , in accordancewith FIGS. 1-6 and the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an electrical schematic diagram for the demodulation circuitof FIG. 7 , in accordance with FIG. 17 and the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a timing diagram for voltages of an electrical signal, as ittravels through the demodulation circuit, in accordance with FIGS. 1-8and the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components of a powerconditioning system of the wireless transmission system of FIG. 3 , inaccordance with FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 , and the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating components of a receiver controlsystem and a receiver power conditioning system of the wireless receiversystem of FIGS. 3 , in accordance with FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 , and the presentdisclosure.

While the following detailed description will be given with respect tocertain illustrative embodiments, it should be understood that thedrawings are not necessarily to scale and the disclosed embodiments aresometimes illustrated diagrammatically and in partial views. Inaddition, in certain instances, details which are not necessary for anunderstanding of the disclosed subject matter or which render otherdetails too difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It shouldtherefore be understood that this disclosure is not limited to theparticular embodiments disclosed and illustrated herein, but rather to afair reading of the entire disclosure and claims, as well as anyequivalents thereto. Additional, different, or fewer components andmethods may be included in the systems and methods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth byway of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of therelevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to those skilled inthe art that the present teachings may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components,and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, withoutdetail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the presentteachings.

Referring now to the drawings and with specific reference to FIGS. 1 ,block diagrams for a sensing system 100 are illustrated. The sensingsystem includes a sensor 14, which is configured to collect and/ordetermine sensor data from or associated with a sensing environment 102,within which the sensor may reside and/or monitor. The sensingenvironment 102 may be any location (one-dimensional space), area(two-dimensional space), and/or volume (three-dimensional space), withinwhich the sensor 14 is configured to collect data.

The sensor 14 includes or is otherwise operatively associated with awireless receiver system 30, which is configured to transmit the sensordata to a wireless transmission system 20. The wireless transmissionsystem 20 is of or operatively associated with a data receiver 111,which is any device, component, and/or entity configured to receiver thesensor data from the sensor 14. The wireless transmission system 20 isconfigured to provide meaningful electrical energy to the sensor 14, viaa wireless power signal transmitted from the wireless transmissionsystem 20 to the wireless receiver system 30 via, for example, antennas21, 31, all of which will be discussed in more detail below with respectto a system 10 for wireless power transfer. The wireless receiver system30 may receive the sensor data from the associated sensor 14 and encodethe sensor data into the wireless power signals as in-band wireless datasignals. The wireless transmission system 20, via a controller 28thereof, and/or an additional or alternative sensor data controller 126may then decode the sensor data from the in-band wireless data signals.Then, the controller 28, 126 may provide the decoded sensor data to anydownstream components of a host or associated device 104. It is to benoted that the sensor data controller 126 may be a common controller asthe transmission controller 28 or may be a separate controller.

The sensor data controller 126 may be any electronic controller orcomputing system that includes, at least, a processor which performsoperations, executes control algorithms, stores data, retrieves data,gathers data, controls and/or provides communication with othercomponents and/or subsystems associated with the sensing system 100,and/or performs any other computing or controlling task desired. Thesensor data controller 126 may be a single controller or may includemore than one controller disposed to control various functions and/orfeatures of the sensing system 100. Functionality of the sensor datacontroller 126 may be implemented in hardware and/or software and mayrely on one or more data maps relating to the operation of the sensingsystem 100. To that end, the sensor data controller 126 may beoperatively associated with memory. The memory may include one or moreof internal memory, external memory, and/or remote memory (e.g., adatabase and/or server operatively connected to the sensor datacontroller 126 via a network, such as, but not limited to, theInternet). The internal memory and/or external memory may include, butare not limited to including, one or more of a read only memory (ROM),including programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM or sometimes but rarely labelled EROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), randomaccess memory (RAM), including dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM),synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), single data rate synchronous dynamicRAM (SDR SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM,DDR2, DDR3, DDR4), and graphics double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM(GDDR SDRAM, GDDR2, GDDR3, GDDR4, GDDR5, a flash memory, a portablememory, and the like. Such memory media are examples of nontransitorymachine readable and/or computer readable memory media.

Referring to FIG. 1A, both the data receiver 111 and the sensingenvironment 102 may be commonly contained by and/or operativelyassociated with a common host device 104A. In such a scenario, thesensor 14 may be configured to determine data associated with one ormore operating conditions and/or system characteristics associated withthe host device 104A and utilize said data for functionality within thehost device 104A itself. A non-limiting example of this scenario is ifthe sensor 14 is a sensor placed within a fluid chamber (sensingenvironment 102) and the sensor 14 is configured to determine a fluidlevel within the fluid chamber. In such an example, it may bedisadvantageous, within the host device 104A (e.g., a cleaning deviceincluding a fluid chamber, a kitchen device including a fluid chamber, afluid-based automotive component, among other things) to have electricalconnectors within a fluid chamber. Thus, by implementing the wirelesspower/data connection from the sensor 14 to the data receiver 111, thesensor 14 may be placed in a sensing environment 102 that it otherwisewould not be placeable. However, the example of this paragraph is merelyexemplary and many other sensor/host device combinations arecontemplated.

Referring now to FIG. 1B, in this scenario, the sensor 14 and thesensing environment 102 are external of an associated device 104B, ofwhich the data receiver 111 and/or the wireless transmission system 20are associated. In such scenarios, the associate device 104B may bepositioned proximate to the sensor 14, such that the antennas 21, 31 arecapable of coupling, for the purposes of transfer of wireless power andwireless data. A non-limiting example of such a scenario would be if thesensor 14 is a medical sensor and/or medical implant configured toreside, temporarily or permanently, within a human body. In suchexamples, the associated device 104B may be a computing device or otherdata collection device including or associated with the wirelesstransmission system 20. In such examples, if the associated device 104Bis positioned proximate to the location of the sensor 14, within thehuman body, the wireless transmission system 20 may then power thesensor 14 and the sensor 14 may provide sensor data to the associateddevice 104B. However, the example of this paragraph is merely exemplaryand many other sensor/associated device combinations are contemplated.

A “sensor,” as defined herein, is any device capable of determiningdata, operating conditions, physical characteristics, among other data,that is associated with a sensing environment. Example sensors mayinclude, but are not limited to including, an embedded sensor, anInternet of Things (IoT) sensor, a medical sensor, a fitness sensor, aheart-rate sensor, a fluid sensor, a light sensor, a detection sensor,an accelerometer, a motion sensor, a RADAR or LiDAR sensor, atemperature or heat sensor, among other known sensors.

Turning now to FIG. 2 , the wireless power transfer system 10 isillustrated. The wireless power transfer system 10 provides for thewireless transmission of electrical signals, such as, but not limitedto, electrical energy, electrical power, electrical power signals,electromagnetic energy, and electronically transmittable data(“electronic data”). As used herein, the term “electrical power signal”refers to an electrical signal transmitted specifically to providemeaningful electrical energy for charging and/or directly powering aload, whereas the term “electronic data signal” refers to an electricalsignal that is utilized to convey data across a medium.

The wireless power transfer system 10 provides for the wirelesstransmission of electrical signals via near field magnetic coupling. Asshown in the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the wireless power transfer system10 includes one or more wireless transmission systems 20 and one or morewireless receiver systems 30. A wireless receiver system 30 isconfigured to receive electrical signals from, at least, a wirelesstransmission system 20.

As illustrated, the wireless transmission system(s) 20 and wirelessreceiver system(s) 30 may be configured to transmit electrical signalsacross, at least, a separation distance or gap 17. A separation distanceor gap, such as the gap 17, in the context of a wireless power transfersystem, such as the system 10, does not include a physical connection,such as a wired connection. There may be intermediary objects located ina separation distance or gap, such as, but not limited to, air, acounter top, a casing for an electronic device, a plastic filament, aninsulator, a mechanical wall, among other things; however, there is nophysical, electrical connection at such a separation distance or gap.

Thus, the combination of two or more wireless transmission systems 20and wireless receiver system 30 create an electrical connection withoutthe need for a physical connection. As used herein, the term “electricalconnection” refers to any facilitation of a transfer of an electricalcurrent, voltage, and/or power from a first location, device, component,and/or source to a second location, device, component, and/ordestination. An “electrical connection” may be a physical connection,such as, but not limited to, a wire, a trace, a via, among otherphysical electrical connections, connecting a first location, device,component, and/or source to a second location, device, component, and/ordestination. Additionally or alternatively, an “electrical connection”may be a wireless power and/or data transfer, such as, but not limitedto, magnetic, electromagnetic, resonant, and/or inductive field, amongother wireless power and/or data transfers, connecting a first location,device, component, and/or source to a second location, device,component, and/or destination.

Further, while FIGS. 2-3 may depict wireless power signals and wirelessdata signals transferring only from one antenna (e.g., a transmissionantenna 21) to another antenna (e.g., a receiver antenna 31 and/or atransmission antenna 21), it is certainly possible that a transmittingantenna 21 may transfer electrical signals and/or couple with one ormore other antennas and transfer, at least in part, components of theoutput signals or magnetic fields of the transmitting antenna 21. Suchtransmission may include secondary and/or stray coupling or signaltransfer to multiple antennas of the system 10.

In some cases, the gap 17 may also be referenced as a “Z-Distance,”because, if one considers an antenna 21, 31 each to be disposedsubstantially along respective common X-Y planes, then the distanceseparating the antennas 21, 31 is the gap in a “Z” or “depth” direction.However, flexible and/or non-planar coils are certainly contemplated byembodiments of the present disclosure and, thus, it is contemplated thatthe gap 17 may not be uniform, across an envelope of connectiondistances between the antennas 21, 31. It is contemplated that varioustunings, configurations, and/or other parameters may alter the possiblemaximum distance of the gap 17, such that electrical transmission fromthe wireless transmission system 20 to the wireless receiver system 30remains possible.

The wireless power transfer system 10 operates when the wirelesstransmission system 20 and the wireless receiver system 30 are coupled.As used herein, the terms “couples,” “coupled,” and “coupling” generallyrefer to magnetic field coupling, which occurs when a transmitter and/orany components thereof and a receiver and/or any components thereof arecoupled to each other through a magnetic field. Such coupling mayinclude coupling, represented by a coupling coefficient (k), that is atleast sufficient for an induced electrical power signal, from atransmitter, to be harnessed by a receiver. Coupling of the wirelesstransmission system 20 and the wireless receiver system 30, in thesystem 10, may be represented by a resonant coupling coefficient of thesystem 10 and, for the purposes of wireless power transfer, the couplingcoefficient for the system 10 may be in the range of about 0.01 and 0.9.

As illustrated, at least one wireless transmission system 20 isassociated with an input power source 12. The input power source 12 maybe operatively associated with the host or associated device 104, whichmay be any electrically operated device, circuit board, electronicassembly, dedicated charging device, or any other contemplatedelectronic device. Example host devices, with which the wirelesstransmission system 20 may be associated therewith, include, but are notlimited to including, a device that includes an integrated circuit, aportable computing device, storage medium for electronic devices,charging apparatus for one or multiple electronic devices, dedicatedelectrical charging devices, among other contemplated electronicdevices.

The input power source 12 may be or may include one or more electricalstorage devices, such as an electrochemical cell, a battery pack, and/ora capacitor, among other storage devices. Additionally or alternatively,the input power source 12 may be any electrical input source (e.g., anyalternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) delivery port) and mayinclude connection apparatus from said electrical input source to thewireless transmission system 20 (e.g., transformers, regulators,conductive conduits, traces, wires, or equipment, goods, computer,camera, mobile phone, and/or other electrical device connection portsand/or adaptors, such as but not limited to USB ports and/or adaptors,among other contemplated electrical components).

Electrical energy received by the wireless transmission system(s) 20 isthen used for at least two purposes: to provide electrical power tointernal components of the wireless transmission system 20 and toprovide electrical power to the transmission antenna 21. Thetransmission antenna 21 is configured to wirelessly transmit theelectrical signals conditioned and modified for wireless transmission bythe wireless transmission system 20 via near-field magnetic coupling(NFMC). Near-field magnetic coupling enables the transfer of signalswirelessly through magnetic induction between the transmission antenna21 and one or more of receiving antenna 31 of, or associated with, thewireless receiver system 30, another transmission antenna 21, orcombinations thereof. Near-field magnetic coupling may be and/or bereferred to as “inductive coupling,” which, as used herein, is awireless power transmission technique that utilizes an alternatingelectromagnetic field to transfer electrical energy between twoantennas. Such inductive coupling is the near field wirelesstransmission of magnetic energy between two magnetically coupled coilsthat are tuned to resonate at a similar frequency. Accordingly, suchnear-field magnetic coupling may enable efficient wireless powertransmission via resonant transmission of confined magnetic fields.Further, such near-field magnetic coupling may provide connection via“mutual inductance,” which, as defined herein is the production of anelectromotive force in a circuit by a change in current in a secondcircuit magnetically coupled to the first.

In one or more embodiments, the inductor coils of either thetransmission antenna 21 or the receiver antenna 31 are strategicallypositioned to facilitate reception and/or transmission of wirelesslytransferred electrical signals through near field magnetic induction.Antenna operating frequencies may comprise relatively high operatingfrequency ranges, examples of which may include, but are not limited to,6.78 MHz (e.g., in accordance with the Rezence and/or Airfuel interfacestandard and/or any other proprietary interface standard operating at afrequency of 6.78 MHz), 13.56 MHz (e.g., in accordance with the NFCstandard, defined by ISO/IEC standard 18092), 27 MHz, and/or anoperating frequency of another proprietary operating mode. The operatingfrequencies of the antennas 21, 31 may be operating frequenciesdesignated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in theIndustrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) frequency bands, including notlimited to 6.78 MHz, 13.56 MHz, and 27 MHz, which are designated for usein wireless power transfer.

The transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna of the presentdisclosure may be configured to transmit and/or receive electrical powerhaving a magnitude that ranges from about 10 milliwatts (mW) to about500 watts (W). In one or more embodiments the inductor coil of thetransmitting antenna 21 is configured to resonate at a transmittingantenna resonant frequency or within a transmitting antenna resonantfrequency band.

As known to those skilled in the art, a “resonant frequency” or“resonant frequency band” refers a frequency or frequencies whereinamplitude response of the antenna is at a relative maximum, or,additionally or alternatively, the frequency or frequency band where thecapacitive reactance has a magnitude substantially similar to themagnitude of the inductive reactance. In one or more embodiments, thetransmitting antenna resonant frequency is at a high frequency, as knownto those in the art of wireless power transfer.

The wireless receiver system 30 may be associated with the sensor 14.Example embodiments of the sensor 14 are discussed above.

For the purposes of illustrating the features and characteristics of thedisclosed embodiments, arrow-ended lines are utilized to illustratetransferrable and/or communicative signals and various patterns are usedto illustrate electrical signals that are intended for powertransmission and electrical signals that are intended for thetransmission of data and/or control instructions. Solid lines indicatesignal transmission of electrical energy over a physical and/or wirelesspower transfer, in the form of power signals that are, ultimately,utilized in wireless power transmission from the wireless transmissionsystem 20 to the wireless receiver system 30. Further, dotted lines areutilized to illustrate electronically transmittable data signals, whichultimately may be wirelessly transmitted from the wireless transmissionsystem 20 to the wireless receiver system 30.

While the systems and methods herein illustrate the transmission ofwirelessly transmitted energy, wireless power signals, wirelesslytransmitted power, wirelessly transmitted electromagnetic energy, and/orelectronically transmittable data, it is certainly contemplated that thesystems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein may be utilized in thetransmission of only one signal, various combinations of two signals, ormore than two signals and, further, it is contemplated that the systems,method, and apparatus disclosed herein may be utilized for wirelesstransmission of other electrical signals in addition to or uniquely incombination with one or more of the above mentioned signals. In someexamples, the signal paths of solid or dotted lines may represent afunctional signal path, whereas, in practical application, the actualsignal is routed through additional components en route to its indicateddestination. For example, it may be indicated that a data signal routesfrom a communications apparatus to another communications apparatus;however, in practical application, the data signal may be routed throughan amplifier, then through a transmission antenna, to a receiverantenna, where, on the receiver end, the data signal is decoded by arespective communications device of the receiver.

Turning now to FIG. 3 , the wireless power transfer system 10 isillustrated as a block diagram including example sub-systems of both thewireless transmission systems 20 and the wireless receiver systems 30.The wireless transmission systems 20 may include, at least, a powerconditioning system 40, a transmission control system 26, a demodulationcircuit 70, a transmission tuning system 24, and the transmissionantenna 21. A first portion of the electrical energy input from theinput power source 12 may be configured to electrically power componentsof the wireless transmission system 20 such as, but not limited to, thetransmission control system 26. A second portion of the electricalenergy input from the input power source 12 is conditioned and/ormodified for wireless power transmission, to the wireless receiversystem 30, via the transmission antenna 21. Accordingly, the secondportion of the input energy is modified and/or conditioned by the powerconditioning system 40. While not illustrated, it is certainlycontemplated that one or both of the first and second portions of theinput electrical energy may be modified, conditioned, altered, and/orotherwise changed prior to receipt by the power conditioning system 40and/or transmission control system 26, by further contemplatedsubsystems (e.g., a voltage regulator, a current regulator, switchingsystems, fault systems, safety regulators, among other things).

Referring now to FIG. 4 , with continued reference to FIGS. 1-3 ,subcomponents and/or systems of the transmission control system 26 areillustrated. The transmission control system 26 may include atransmission (Tx) sensing system 50, a transmission controller 28, acommunications system 29, a driver 48, and a memory 27.

The transmission controller 28 may be any electronic controller orcomputing system that includes, at least, a processor which performsoperations, executes control algorithms, stores data, retrieves data,gathers data, controls and/or provides communication with othercomponents and/or subsystems associated with the wireless transmissionsystem 20, and/or performs any other computing or controlling taskdesired. The transmission controller 28 may be a single controller ormay include more than one controller disposed to control variousfunctions and/or features of the wireless transmission system 20.Functionality of the transmission controller 28 may be implemented inhardware and/or software and may rely on one or more data maps relatingto the operation of the wireless transmission system 20. To that end,the transmission controller 28 may be operatively associated with thememory 27. The memory may include one or more of internal memory,external memory, and/or remote memory (e.g., a database and/or serveroperatively connected to the transmission controller 28 via a network,such as, but not limited to, the Internet). The internal memory and/orexternal memory may include, but are not limited to including, one ormore of a read only memory (ROM), including programmable read-onlymemory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM orsometimes but rarely labelled EROM), electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), random access memory (RAM), including dynamicRAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), singledata rate synchronous dynamic RAM (SDR SDRAM), double data ratesynchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4), and graphicsdouble data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (GDDR SDRAM, GDDR2, GDDR3,GDDR4, GDDR5, a flash memory, a portable memory, and the like. Suchmemory media are examples of nontransitory machine readable and/orcomputer readable memory media.

While particular elements of the transmission control system 26 areillustrated as independent components and/or circuits (e.g., the driver48, the memory 27, the communications system 29, the sensing system 50,among other contemplated elements) of the transmission control system26, such components may be integrated with the transmission controller28. In some examples, the transmission controller 28 may be anintegrated circuit configured to include functional elements of one orboth of the transmission controller 28 and the wireless transmissionsystem 20, generally.

As illustrated, the transmission controller 28 is in operativeassociation, for the purposes of data transmission, receipt, and/orcommunication, with, at least, the memory 27, the communications system29, the power conditioning system 40, the driver 48, and the Tx sensingsystem 50. The driver 48 may be implemented to control, at least inpart, the operation of the power conditioning system 40. In someexamples, the driver 48 may receive instructions from the transmissioncontroller 28 to generate and/or output a generated pulse widthmodulation (PWM) signal to the power conditioning system 40. In somesuch examples, the PWM signal may be configured to drive the powerconditioning system 40 to output electrical power as an alternatingcurrent signal, having an operating frequency defined by the PWM signal.In some examples, PWM signal may be configured to generate a duty cyclefor the AC power signal output by the power conditioning system 40. Insome such examples, the duty cycle may be configured to be about 50% ofa given period of the AC power signal.

The Tx sensing system 50 may include one or more transmission (Tx)sensors, wherein each Tx sensor may be operatively associated with oneor more components of the wireless transmission system 20 and configuredto provide information and/or data. The term “Tx sensor” is used in itsbroadest interpretation to define one or more components operativelyassociated with the wireless transmission system 20 that operate tosense functions, conditions, electrical characteristics, operations,and/or operating characteristics of one or more of the wirelesstransmission system 20, the wireless receiving system 30, the inputpower source 12, the host device 11, the transmission antenna 21, thereceiver antenna 31, along with any other components and/orsubcomponents thereof.

As illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 5 , the Tx sensing system 50may include, but is not limited to including, a thermal sensing system52, an object sensing system 54, a receiver sensing system 56, a currentsensor 57, and/or any other sensor(s) 58. Within these systems, theremay exist even more specific optional additional or alternative Txsensing systems addressing particular sensing aspects required by anapplication, such as, but not limited to: a condition-based maintenancesensing system, a performance optimization sensing system, astate-of-charge sensing system, a temperature management sensing system,a component heating sensing system, an IoT sensing system, an energyand/or power management sensing system, an impact detection sensingsystem, an electrical status sensing system, a speed detection sensingsystem, a device health sensing system, among others. The object sensingsystem 54, may be a foreign object detection (FOD) system.

Each of the thermal sensing system 52, the object sensing system 54, thereceiver sensing system 56, the current sensor 57 and/or the othersensor(s) 58, including the optional additional or alternative systems,are operatively and/or communicatively connected to the transmissioncontroller 28. The thermal sensing system 52 is configured to monitorambient and/or component temperatures within the wireless transmissionsystem 20 or other elements nearby the wireless transmission system 20.The thermal sensing system 52 may be configured to detect a temperaturewithin the wireless transmission system 20 and, if the detectedtemperature exceeds a threshold temperature, the transmission controller28 prevents the wireless transmission system 20 from operating. Such athreshold temperature may be configured for safety considerations,operational considerations, efficiency considerations, and/or anycombinations thereof. In a non-limiting example, if, via input from thethermal sensing system 52, the transmission controller 28 determinesthat the temperature within the wireless transmission system 20 hasincreased from an acceptable operating temperature to an undesiredoperating temperature (e.g., in a non-limiting example, the internaltemperature increasing from about 20° Celsius (C) to about 50° C., thetransmission controller 28 prevents the operation of the wirelesstransmission system 20 and/or reduces levels of power output from thewireless transmission system 20. In some non-limiting examples, thethermal sensing system 52 may include one or more of a thermocouple, athermistor, a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) resistor, aresistance temperature detector (RTD), and/or any combinations thereof.

As depicted in FIG. 5 , the Tx sensing system 50 may include the objectsensing system 54. The object sensing system 54 may be configured todetect one or more of the wireless receiver system 30 and/or thereceiver antenna 31, thus indicating to the transmission controller 28that the receiver system 30 is proximate to the wireless transmissionsystem 20. Additionally or alternatively, the object sensing system 54may be configured to detect presence of unwanted objects in contact withor proximate to the wireless transmission system 20. In some examples,the object sensing system 54 is configured to detect the presence of anundesired object. In some such examples, if the transmission controller28, via information provided by the object sensing system 54, detectsthe presence of an undesired object, then the transmission controller 28prevents or otherwise modifies operation of the wireless transmissionsystem 20. In some examples, the object sensing system 54 utilizes animpedance change detection scheme, in which the transmission controller28 analyzes a change in electrical impedance observed by thetransmission antenna 20 against a known, acceptable electrical impedancevalue or range of electrical impedance values.

Additionally or alternatively, the object sensing system 54 may utilizea quality factor (Q) change detection scheme, in which the transmissioncontroller 28 analyzes a change from a known quality factor value orrange of quality factor values of the object being detected, such as thereceiver antenna 31. The “quality factor” or “Q” of an inductor can bedefined as (frequency (Hz)×inductance (H))/resistance (ohms), wherefrequency is the operational frequency of the circuit, inductance is theinductance output of the inductor and resistance is the combination ofthe radiative and reactive resistances that are internal to theinductor. “Quality factor,” as defined herein, is generally accepted asan index (figure of measure) that measures the efficiency of anapparatus like an antenna, a circuit, or a resonator. In some examples,the object sensing system 54 may include one or more of an opticalsensor, an electro-optical sensor, a Hall effect sensor, a proximitysensor, and/or any combinations thereof. In some examples, the qualityfactor measurements, described above, may be performed when the wirelesspower transfer system 10 is performing in band communications.

The receiver sensing system 56 is any sensor, circuit, and/orcombinations thereof configured to detect presence of any wirelessreceiving system that may be couplable with the wireless transmissionsystem 20. In some examples, the receiver sensing system 56 and theobject sensing system 54 may be combined, may share components, and/ormay be embodied by one or more common components. In some examples, ifthe presence of any such wireless receiving system is detected, wirelesstransmission of electrical energy, electrical power, electromagneticenergy, and/or data by the wireless transmission system 20 to saidwireless receiving system is enabled. In some examples, if the presenceof a wireless receiver system is not detected, continued wirelesstransmission of electrical energy, electrical power, electromagneticenergy, and/or data is prevented from occurring. Accordingly, thereceiver sensing system 56 may include one or more sensors and/or may beoperatively associated with one or more sensors that are configured toanalyze electrical characteristics within an environment of or proximateto the wireless transmission system 20 and, based on the electricalcharacteristics, determine presence of a wireless receiver system 30.

The current sensor 57 may be any sensor configured to determineelectrical information from an electrical signal, such as a voltage or acurrent, based on a current reading at the current sensor 57. Componentsof an example current sensor 57 are further illustrated in FIG. 5 ,which is a block diagram for the current sensor 57. The current sensor57 may include a transformer 51, a rectifier 53, and/or a low passfilter 55, to process the AC wireless signals, transferred via couplingbetween the wireless receiver system(s) 20 and wireless transmissionsystem(s) 30, to determine or provide information to derive a current(I_(Tx)) or voltage (V_(Tx)) at the transmission antenna 21. Thetransformer 51 may receive the AC wireless signals and either step up orstep down the voltage of the AC wireless signal, such that it canproperly be processed by the current sensor. The rectifier 53 mayreceive the transformed AC wireless signal and rectify the signal, suchthat any negative remaining in the transformed AC wireless signal areeither eliminated or converted to opposite positive voltages, togenerate a rectified AC wireless signal. The low pass filter 55 isconfigured to receive the rectified AC wireless signal and filter out ACcomponents (e.g., the operating or carrier frequency of the AC wirelesssignal) of the rectified AC wireless signal, such that a DC voltage isoutput for the current (I_(Tx)) and/or voltage (V_(Tx)) at thetransmission antenna 21.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram for a demodulation circuit 70 for the wirelesstransmission system(s) 20, which is used by the wireless transmissionsystem 20 to simplify or decode components of wireless data signals ofan alternating current (AC) wireless signal, prior to transmission ofthe wireless data signal to the transmission controller 28. Thedemodulation circuit includes, at least, a slope detector 72 and acomparator 74. In some examples, the demodulation circuit 70 includes aset/reset (SR) latch 76. In some examples, the demodulation circuit 70may be an analog circuit comprised of one or more passive components(e.g., resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, among other passivecomponents) and/or one or more active components (e.g., operationalamplifiers, logic gates, among other active components). Alternatively,it is contemplated that the demodulation circuit 70 and some or all ofits components may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC). Ineither an analog circuit or IC, it is contemplated that the demodulationcircuit may be external of the transmission controller 28 and isconfigured to provide information associated with wireless data signalstransmitted from the wireless receiver system 30 to the wirelesstransmission system 20.

The demodulation circuit 70 is configured to receive electricalinformation (e.g., I_(Tx), V_(Tx)) from at least one sensor (e.g., asensor of the sensing system 50), detect a change in such electricalinformation, determine if the change in the electrical information meetsor exceeds one of a rise threshold or a fall threshold. If the changeexceeds one of the rise threshold or the fall threshold, thedemodulation circuit 70 generates an alert, and, outputs a plurality ofdata alerts. Such data alerts are received by the transmitter controller28 and decoded by the transmitter controller 28 to determine thewireless data signals. In other words, the demodulation circuit 70 isconfigured to monitor the slope of an electrical signal (e.g., slope ofa voltage at the power conditioning system 32 of a wireless receiversystem 30) and output an alert if said slope exceeds a maximum slopethreshold or undershoots a minimum slope threshold.

Such slope monitoring and/or slope detection by the communicationssystem 70 is particularly useful when detecting or decoding an amplitudeshift keying (ASK) signal that encodes the wireless data signals in-bandof the wireless power signal at the operating frequency. In an ASKsignal, the wireless data signals are encoded by damping the voltage ofthe magnetic field between the wireless transmission system 20 and thewireless receiver system 30. Such damping and subsequent re-rising ofthe voltage in the field is performed based on an encoding scheme forthe wireless data signals (e.g., binary coding, Manchester coding,pulse-width modulated coding, among other known or novel coding systemsand methods). The receiver of the wireless data signals (e.g., thewireless transmission system 20) must then detect rising and fallingedges of the voltage of the field and decode said rising and fallingedges to receive the wireless data signals.

While in a theoretical, ideal scenario, an ASK signal will rise and fallinstantaneously, with no slope between the high voltage and the lowvoltage for ASK modulation; however, in physical reality, there is sometime that passes when the ASK signal transitions from the “high” voltageto the “low” voltage. Thus, the voltage or current signal sensed by thedemodulation circuit 70 will have some, knowable slope or rate of changein voltage when transitioning from the high ASK voltage to the low ASKvoltage. By configuring the demodulation circuit 70 to determine whensaid slope meets, overshoots and/or undershoots such rise and fallthresholds, known for the slope when operating in the system 10, thedemodulation circuit can accurately detect rising and falling edges ofthe ASK signal.

Thus, a relatively inexpensive and/or simplified circuit may be utilizedto, at least partially, decode ASK signals down to alerts for rising andfalling instances. So long as the transmission controller 28 isprogrammed to understand the coding schema of the ASK modulation, thetransmission controller 28 will expend far less computational resourcesthan it would if it had to decode the leading and falling edges directlyfrom an input current or voltage sense signal from the sensing system50. To that end, as the computational resources required by thetransmission controller 28 to decode the wireless data signals aresignificantly decreased due to the inclusion of the demodulation circuit70, the demodulation circuit 70 may significantly reduce BOM of thewireless transmission system 20, by allowing usage of cheaper, lesscomputationally capable processor(s) for or with the transmissioncontroller 28.

The demodulation circuit 70 may be particularly useful in reducing thecomputational burden for decoding data signals, at the transmittercontroller 28, when the ASK wireless data signals are encoded/decodedutilizing a pulse-width encoded ASK signals, in-band of the wirelesspower signals. A pulse-width encoded ASK signal refers to a signalwherein the data is encoded as a percentage of a period of a signal. Forexample, a two-bit pulse width encoded signal may encode a start bit as20% of a period between high edges of the signal, encode “1” as 40% of aperiod between high edges of the signal, and encode “0” as 60% of aperiod between high edges of the signal, to generate a binary encodingformat in the pulse width encoding scheme. Thus, as the pulse widthencoding relies solely on monitoring rising and falling edges of the ASKsignal, the periods between rising times need not be constant and thedata signals may be asynchronous or “unclocked.” Examples of pulse widthencoding and systems and methods to perform such pulse width encodingare explained in greater detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/735,342 titled “Systems and Methods for Wireless Power TransferIncluding Pulse Width Encoded Data Communications,” to Michael Katz,which is commonly owned by the owner of the instant application and ishereby incorporated by reference.

Turning now to FIG. 7 , with continued reference to FIG. 6 , anelectrical schematic diagram for the demodulation circuit 70 isillustrated. Additionally, reference will be made to FIG. 8 , which isan exemplary timing diagram illustrating signal shape or waveform atvarious stages or sub-circuits of the demodulation circuit 70. The inputsignal to the demodulation circuit 70 is illustrated in FIG. 7 as PlotA, showing rising and falling edges from a “high” voltage (V_(High)) onthe transmission antenna 21 to a “low” voltage (V_(Low)) on thetransmission antenna 21. The voltage signal of Plot A may be derivedfrom, for example, a current (I_(TX)) sensed at the transmission antenna21 by one or more sensors of the sensing system 50. Such rises and fallsfrom V_(High) to V_(Low) may be caused by load modulation, performed atthe wireless receiver system(s) 30, to modulate the wireless powersignals to include the wireless data signals via ASK modulation. Asillustrated, the voltage of Plot A does not cleanly rise and fall whenthe ASK modulation is performed; rather, a slope or slopes, indicatingrate(s) of change, occur during the transitions from VHi_(g)h to VLo_(W)and vice versa.

As illustrated in FIG. 7 , the slope detector 72 includes a high passfilter 71, an operation amplifier (OpAmp) OP_(SD), and an optionalstabilizing circuit 73. The high pass filter 71 is configured to monitorfor higher frequency components of the AC wireless signals and mayinclude, at least, a filter capacitor (C_(HF)) and a filter resistor(R_(HF)). The values for C_(HF) and R_(HF) are selected and/or tuned fora desired cutoff frequency for the high pass filter 71. In someexamples, the cutoff frequency for the high pass filter 71 may beselected as a value greater than or equal to about 1-2 kHz, to ensureadequately fast slope detection by the slope detector 72, when theoperating frequency of the system 10 is on the order of MHz (e.g., anoperating frequency of about 6.78 MHz). In some examples, the high passfilter 71 is configured such that harmonic components of the detectedslope are unfiltered. In view of the current sensor 57 of FIG. 5 , thehigh pass filter 71 and the low pass filter 55, in combination, mayfunction as a bandpass filter for the demodulation circuit 70.

OP_(SD) is any operational amplifier having an adequate bandwidth forproper signal response, for outputting the slope of V_(Tx), but lowenough to attenuate components of the signal that are based on theoperating frequency and/or harmonics of the operating frequency.Additionally or alternatively, OP_(SD) may be selected to have a smallinput voltage range for V_(Tx), such that OP_(SD) may avoid unnecessaryerror or clipping during large changes in voltage at V_(Tx). Further, aninput bias voltage (V_(Bias)) for OP_(SD) may be selected based onvalues that ensure OP_(SD) will not saturate under boundary conditions(e.g., steepest slopes, largest changes in V_(Tx)). It is to be noted,and is illustrated in Plot B of FIG. 8 , that when no slope is detected,the output of the slope detector 72 will be V_(Bias).

As the passive components of the slope detector 72 will set theterminals and zeroes for a transfer function of the slope detector 72,such passive components must be selected to ensure stability. To thatend, if the desired and/or available components selected for C_(HF) andR_(HF) do not adequately set the terminals and zeros for the transferfunction, additional, optional stability capacitor(s) C_(ST) may beplaced in parallel with R_(HF) and stability resistor R_(ST) may beplaced in the input path to OP_(SD).

Output of the slope detector 72 (Plot B representing V_(SD)) mayapproximate the following equation:

$V_{SD} = {{{- R_{HF}}C_{HF}\frac{dV}{dt}} + V_{Bias}}$Thus, V_(SD) will approximate to V_(Bias), when no change in voltage(slope) is detected, and V_(SD) will output the change in voltage(dV/dt), as scaled by the high pass filter 71, when V_(Tx) rises andfalls between the high voltage and the low voltage of the ASKmodulation. The output of the slope detector 72, as illustrated in PlotB, may be a pulse, showing slope of V_(Tx) rise and fall.

V_(SD) is output to the comparator circuit(s) 74, which is configured toreceive V_(SD), compare V_(SD) to a rising rate of change for thevoltage (V_(SUp)) and a falling rate of change for the voltage(V_(SLo)). If V_(SD) exceeds or meets V_(SUp), then the comparatorcircuit will determine that the change in V_(Tx) meets the risethreshold and indicates a rising edge in the ASK modulation. If V_(SD)goes below or meets V_(SLow), then the comparator circuit will determinethat the change in V_(Tx) meets the fall threshold and indicates afalling edge of the ASK modulation. It is to be noted that V_(SUp) andV_(SLo) may be selected to ensure a symmetrical triggering.

In some examples, such as the comparator circuit 74 illustrated in FIG.6 , the comparator circuit 74 may comprise a window comparator circuit.In such examples, the V_(SUp) and V_(SLo) may be set as a fraction ofthe power supply determined by resistor values of the comparator circuit74. In some such examples, resistor values in the comparator circuit maybe configured such that

$V_{SLo} = {V_{in}\lbrack \frac{R_{L2}}{R_{L1} + R_{L2}} \rbrack}$where Vin is a power supply determined by the comparator circuit 74.When V_(SD) exceeds the set limits for V_(SUp) or V_(SLo), thecomparator circuit 74 triggers and pulls the output (V_(Cout)) low.

Further, while the output of the comparator circuit 74 could be outputto the transmission controller 28 and utilized to decode the wirelessdata signals by signaling the rising and falling edges of the ASKmodulation, in some examples, the SR latch 76 may be included to addnoise reduction and/or a filtering mechanism for the slope detector 72.The SR latch 76 may be configured to latch the signal (Plot C) in asteady state to be read by the transmitter controller 28, until a resetis performed. In some examples, the SR latch 76 may perform functions oflatching the comparator signal and serve as an inverter to create anactive high alert out signal. Accordingly, the SR latch 76 may be any SRlatch known in the art configured to sequentially excite when the systemdetects a slope or other modulation excitation. As illustrated, the SRlatch 76 may include NOR gates, wherein such NOR gates may be configuredto have an adequate propagation delay for the signal. For example, theSR latch 76 may include two NOR gates (NOR_(Up), NOR_(Lo)), each NORgate operatively associated with the upper voltage output 78 of thecomparator 74 and the lower voltage output 79 of the comparator 74.

In some examples, such as those illustrated in Plot C, a reset of the SRlatch 76 is triggered when the comparator circuit 74 outputs detectionof V_(SUp) (solid plot on Plot C) and a set of the SR latch 76 istriggered when the comparator circuit 74 outputs V_(SLo) (dashed plot onPlot C). Thus, the reset of the SR latch 76 indicates a falling edge ofthe ASK modulation and the set of the SR latch 76 indicates a risingedge of the ASK modulation. Accordingly, as illustrated in Plot D, therising and falling edges, indicated by the demodulation circuit 70, areinput to the transmission controller 28 as alerts, which are decoded todetermine the received wireless data signal transmitted, via the ASKmodulation, from the wireless receiver system(s) 30.

Referring now to FIG. 9 , and with continued reference to FIGS. 1-7 , ablock diagram illustrating an embodiment of the power conditioningsystem 40 is illustrated. At the power conditioning system 40,electrical power is received, generally, as a DC power source, via theinput power source 12 itself or an intervening power converter,converting an AC source to a DC source (not shown). A voltage regulator46 receives the electrical power from the input power source 12 and isconfigured to provide electrical power for transmission by the antenna21 and provide electrical power for powering components of the wirelesstransmission system 21. Accordingly, the voltage regulator 46 isconfigured to convert the received electrical power into at least twoelectrical power signals, each at a proper voltage for operation of therespective downstream components: a first electrical power signal toelectrically power any components of the wireless transmission system 20and a second portion conditioned and modified for wireless transmissionto the wireless receiver system 30. As illustrated in FIG. 4 , such afirst portion is transmitted to, at least, the sensing system 50, thetransmission controller 28, and the communications system 29; however,the first portion is not limited to transmission to just thesecomponents and can be transmitted to any electrical components of thewireless transmission system 20.

The second portion of the electrical power is provided to an amplifier42 of the power conditioning system 40, which is configured to conditionthe electrical power for wireless transmission by the antenna 21. Theamplifier may function as an invertor, which receives an input DC powersignal from the voltage regulator 46 and generates an AC as output,based, at least in part, on PWM input from the transmission controlsystem 26. The amplifier 42 may be or include, for example, a powerstage invertor, such as a single field effect transistor (FET), a dualfield effect transistor power stage invertor or a quadruple field effecttransistor power stage invertor. The use of the amplifier 42 within thepower conditioning system 40 and, in turn, the wireless transmissionsystem 20 enables wireless transmission of electrical signals havingmuch greater amplitudes than if transmitted without such an amplifier.For example, the addition of the amplifier 42 may enable the wirelesstransmission system 20 to transmit electrical energy as an electricalpower signal having electrical power from about 10 mW to about 500 W. Insome examples, the amplifier 42 may be or may include one or moreclass-E power amplifiers. Class-E power amplifiers are efficiently tunedswitching power amplifiers designed for use at high frequencies (e.g.,frequencies from about 1 MHz to about 1 GHz). Generally, a single-endedclass-E amplifier employs a single-terminal switching element and atuned reactive network between the switch and an output load (e.g., theantenna 21). Class E amplifiers may achieve high efficiency at highfrequencies by only operating the switching element at points of zerocurrent (e.g., on-to-off switching) or zero voltage (off to onswitching). Such switching characteristics may minimize power lost inthe switch, even when the switching time of the device is long comparedto the frequency of operation. However, the amplifier 42 is certainlynot limited to being a class-E power amplifier and may be or may includeone or more of a class D amplifier, a class EF amplifier, an H invertoramplifier, and/or a push-pull invertor, among other amplifiers thatcould be included as part of the amplifier 42.

Turning now to FIG. 10 and with continued reference to, at least, FIGS.1-3 , the wireless receiver system 30 is illustrated in further detail.The wireless receiver system 30 is configured to receive, at least,electrical energy, electrical power, electromagnetic energy, and/orelectrically transmittable data via near field magnetic coupling fromthe wireless transmission system 20, via the transmission antenna 21. Asillustrated in FIG. 10 , the wireless receiver system 30 includes, atleast, the receiver antenna 31, a receiver tuning and filtering system34, a power conditioning system 32, a receiver control system 36, and avoltage isolation circuit 70. The receiver tuning and filtering system34 may be configured to substantially match the electrical impedance ofthe wireless transmission system 20. In some examples, the receivertuning and filtering system 34 may be configured to dynamically adjustand substantially match the electrical impedance of the receiver antenna31 to a characteristic impedance of the power generator or the load at adriving frequency of the transmission antenna 20.

As illustrated, the power conditioning system 32 includes a rectifier 33and a voltage regulator 35. In some examples, the rectifier 33 is inelectrical connection with the receiver tuning and filtering system 34.The rectifier 33 is configured to modify the received electrical energyfrom an alternating current electrical energy signal to a direct currentelectrical energy signal. In some examples, the rectifier 33 iscomprised of at least one diode. Some non-limiting exampleconfigurations for the rectifier 33 include, but are not limited toincluding, a full wave rectifier, including a center tapped full waverectifier and a full wave rectifier with filter, a half wave rectifier,including a half wave rectifier with filter, a bridge rectifier,including a bridge rectifier with filter, a split supply rectifier, asingle phase rectifier, a three phase rectifier, a voltage doubler, asynchronous voltage rectifier, a controlled rectifier, an uncontrolledrectifier, and a half controlled rectifier. As electronic devices may besensitive to voltage, additional protection of the electronic device maybe provided by clipper circuits or devices. In this respect, therectifier 33 may further include a clipper circuit or a clipper device,which is a circuit or device that removes either the positive half (tophalf), the negative half (bottom half), or both the positive and thenegative halves of an input AC signal. In other words, a clipper is acircuit or device that limits the positive amplitude, the negativeamplitude, or both the positive and the negative amplitudes of the inputAC signal.

Some non-limiting examples of a voltage regulator 35 include, but arenot limited to, including a series linear voltage regulator, a buckconvertor, a low dropout (LDO) regulator, a shunt linear voltageregulator, a step up switching voltage regulator, a step down switchingvoltage regulator, an invertor voltage regulator, a Zener controlledtransistor series voltage regulator, a charge pump regulator, and anemitter follower voltage regulator. The voltage regulator 35 may furtherinclude a voltage multiplier, which is as an electronic circuit ordevice that delivers an output voltage having an amplitude (peak value)that is two, three, or more times greater than the amplitude (peakvalue) of the input voltage. The voltage regulator 35 is in electricalconnection with the rectifier 33 and configured to adjust the amplitudeof the electrical voltage of the wirelessly received electrical energysignal, after conversion to AC by the rectifier 33. In some examples,the voltage regulator 35 may an LDO linear voltage regulator; however,other voltage regulation circuits and/or systems are contemplated. Asillustrated, the direct current electrical energy signal output by thevoltage regulator 35 is received at the load 16 of the electronic device14. In some examples, a portion of the direct current electrical powersignal may be utilized to power the receiver control system 36 and anycomponents thereof; however, it is certainly possible that the receivercontrol system 36, and any components thereof, may be powered and/orreceive signals from the load 16 (e.g., when the load 16 is a batteryand/or other power source) and/or other components of the electronicdevice 14.

The receiver control system 36 may include, but is not limited toincluding, a receiver controller 38, a communications system 39 and amemory 37. The receiver controller 38 may be any electronic controlleror computing system that includes, at least, a processor which performsoperations, executes control algorithms, stores data, retrieves data,gathers data, controls and/or provides communication with othercomponents and/or sub-systems associated with the wireless receiversystem 30. The receiver controller 38 may be a single controller or mayinclude more than one controller disposed to control various functionsand/or features of the wireless receiver system 30. Functionality of thereceiver controller 38 may be implemented in hardware and/or softwareand may rely on one or more data maps relating to the operation of thewireless receiver system 30. To that end, the receiver controller 38 maybe operatively associated with the memory 37. The memory may include oneor both of internal memory, external memory, and/or remote memory (e.g.,a database and/or server operatively connected to the receivercontroller 38 via a network, such as, but not limited to, the Internet).The internal memory and/or external memory may include, but are notlimited to including, one or more of a read only memory (ROM), includingprogrammable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM or sometimes but rarely labelled EROM), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), random access memory(RAM), including dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronousdynamic RAM (SDRAM), single data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRSDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM, DDR2, DDR3,DDR4), and graphics double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (GDDRSDRAM, GDDR2, GDDR3, GDDR4, GDDR5), a flash memory, a portable memory,and the like. Such memory media are examples of nontransitory computerreadable memory media.

Further, while particular elements of the receiver control system 36 areillustrated as subcomponents and/or circuits (e.g., the memory 37, thecommunications system 39, among other contemplated elements) of thereceiver control system 36, such components may be external of thereceiver controller 38. In some examples, the receiver controller 38 maybe and/or include one or more integrated circuits configured to includefunctional elements of one or both of the receiver controller 38 and thewireless receiver system 30, generally. As used herein, the term“integrated circuits” generally refers to a circuit in which all or someof the circuit elements are inseparably associated and electricallyinterconnected so that it is considered to be indivisible for thepurposes of construction and commerce. Such integrated circuits mayinclude, but are not limited to including, thin-film transistors,thick-film technologies, and/or hybrid integrated circuits.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example, non-limiting embodiment of one or bothof the transmitter antenna 21 and/or the receiver antenna 31 that may beused with any of the systems, methods, and/or apparatus disclosedherein. In the illustrated embodiment, the antenna 21, 31, is a flatspiral coil configuration. Non-limiting examples can be found in U.S.Pat. Nos. 9,941,743, 9,960,628, 9,941,743 all to Peralta et al.;9,948,129, 10,063,100 to Singh et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 9,941,590 toLuzinski; U.S. Pat. No. 9,960,629 to Rajagopalan et al.; and U.S. PatentApp. Nos. 2017/0040107, 2017/0040105, 2017/0040688 to Peralta et al.;all of which are assigned to the assignee of the present application andincorporated fully herein by reference.

In addition, the antenna 21, 31 may be constructed having amulti-layer-multi-turn (MLMT) construction in which at least oneinsulator is positioned between a plurality of conductors. Non-limitingexamples of antennas having an MLMT construction that may beincorporated within the wireless transmission system(s) 20 and/or thewireless receiver system(s) 30 may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,610,530,8,653,927, 8,680,960, 8,692,641, 8,692,642, 8,698,590, 8,698,591,8,707,546, 8,710,948, 8,803,649, 8,823,481, 8,823,482, 8,855,786,8,898,885, 9,208,942, 9,232,893, and 9,300,046 to Singh et al., all ofwhich are assigned to the assignee of the present application areincorporated fully herein. These are merely exemplary antenna examples;however, it is contemplated that the antennas 31 may be any antennacapable of the aforementioned higher power, high frequency wirelesspower transfer.

The systems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein are designed tooperate in an efficient, stable and reliable manner to satisfy a varietyof operating and environmental conditions. The systems, methods, and/orapparatus disclosed herein are designed to operate in a wide range ofthermal and mechanical stress environments so that data and/orelectrical energy is transmitted efficiently and with minimal loss. Inaddition, the system 10 may be designed with a small form factor using afabrication technology that allows for scalability, and at a cost thatis amenable to developers and adopters. In addition, the systems,methods, and apparatus disclosed herein may be designed to operate overa wide range of frequencies to meet the requirements of a wide range ofapplications.

In an embodiment, a ferrite shield may be incorporated within theantenna structure to improve antenna performance. Selection of theferrite shield material may be dependent on the operating frequency asthe complex magnetic permeability (μ=μ′−j*μ″) is frequency dependent.The material may be a polymer, a sintered flexible ferrite sheet, arigid shield, or a hybrid shield, wherein the hybrid shield comprises arigid portion and a flexible portion. Additionally, the magnetic shieldmay be composed of varying material compositions. Examples of materialsmay include, but are not limited to, zinc comprising ferrite materialssuch as manganese-zinc, nickel-zinc, copper-zinc, magnesium-zinc, andcombinations thereof.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” preceding a series ofitems, with the term “and” or “or” to separate any of the items,modifies the list as a whole, rather than each member of the list (i.e.,each item). The phrase “at least one of” does not require selection ofat least one of each item listed; rather, the phrase allows a meaningthat includes at least one of any one of the items, and/or at least oneof any combination of the items, and/or at least one of each of theitems. By way of example, the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” or“at least one of A, B, or C” each refer to only A, only B, or only C;any combination of A, B, and C; and/or at least one of each of A, B, andC.

The predicate words “configured to”, “operable to”, and “programmed to”do not imply any particular tangible or intangible modification of asubject, but, rather, are intended to be used interchangeably. In one ormore embodiments, a processor configured to monitor and control anoperation or a component may also mean the processor being programmed tomonitor and control the operation or the processor being operable tomonitor and control the operation. Likewise, a processor configured toexecute code can be construed as a processor programmed to execute codeor operable to execute code.

A phrase such as “an aspect” does not imply that such aspect isessential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to anaspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations.An aspect may provide one or more examples of the disclosure. A phrasesuch as an “aspect” may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa. Aphrase such as an “embodiment” does not imply that such embodiment isessential to the subject technology or that such embodiment applies toall configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating toan embodiment may apply to all embodiments, or one or more embodiments.An embodiment may provide one or more examples of the disclosure. Aphrase such an “embodiment” may refer to one or more embodiments andvice versa. A phrase such as a “configuration” does not imply that suchconfiguration is essential to the subject technology or that suchconfiguration applies to all configurations of the subject technology. Adisclosure relating to a configuration may apply to all configurations,or one or more configurations. A configuration may provide one or moreexamples of the disclosure. A phrase such as a “configuration” may referto one or more configurations and vice versa.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” or as an “example” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Furthermore, to theextent that the term “include,” “have,” or the like is used in thedescription or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted whenemployed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, to the extentthat the term “include,” “have,” or the like is used in the descriptionor the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similarto the term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted when employed as atransitional word in a claim.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construedunder the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in thecase of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “stepfor.”

Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one andonly one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.”Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one ormore. Pronouns in the masculine (e.g., his) include the feminine andneuter gender (e.g., her and its) and vice versa. Headings andsubheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit thesubject disclosure.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but ratheras descriptions of particular implementations of the subject matter.Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in asingle embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described inthe context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a sub combination.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A sensing system for determining sensordata within a fluid chamber, the sensing system comprising: a sensorconfigured to determine the sensor data, the sensor data associated withthe fluid chamber; a wireless transmission system configured towirelessly couple with the sensor, the wireless transmission systemconfigured for wirelessly providing significant electrical energy to thesensor as wireless power signals and receive the sensor data as in-banddata signals encoded in the wireless power signals; a wireless receiversystem operatively associated with the sensor and with which thewireless transmission system couples with the sensor, the wirelessreceiver system configured to receive the significant electrical energyas the wireless power signals from the wireless transmission system; anda controller operatively associated with the wireless transmissionsystem and configured to decode the in-band data signals from thewireless power signals as the sensor data.
 2. The sensing system ofclaim 1, wherein the sensing system is configured to determine a fluidlevel within the fluid chamber.
 3. The sensing system of claim 2,wherein the sensor data includes fluid level data associated with thefluid chamber.
 4. The sensing system of claim 1, wherein the wirelesstransmission system includes: a transmitter antenna configured to couplewith a receiver antenna of the wireless receiver system and transmitalternating current (AC) wireless signals to the receiver antenna, theAC wireless signals including the wireless power signals and the in-banddata signals, the in-band data signals generated by altering electricalcharacteristics of the AC wireless signals at the wireless receiversystem; a current sensor configured to detect electrical informationassociated with the electrical characteristics of the AC wirelesssignals, the electrical information including one or more of a currentof the AC wireless signals, a voltage of the AC wireless signals, apower level of the AC wireless signals, or combinations thereof; and ademodulation circuit configured to (i) receive the electricalinformation from the current sensor, (ii) detect a change in theelectrical information, (iii) determine if the change in the electricalinformation meets or exceeds one of a rise threshold or a fallthreshold, (iv) if the change exceeds one of the rise threshold or thefall threshold, generate an alert, (v) and output a plurality of dataalerts.
 5. The sensing system of claim 4, wherein the controller isconfigured to (i) receive the plurality of data alerts from thedemodulation circuit, and (ii) decode the plurality of data alerts intothe sensor data.
 6. The sensing system of claim 5, wherein the in-banddata signals are encoded by the wireless receiver system as amplitudeshift keying (ASK) data signals.
 7. The sensing system of claim 1,wherein the sensor includes a temperature sensor.
 8. The sensing systemof claim 7, wherein the sensor data includes temperature data associatedwith the fluid chamber.
 9. The sensing system of claim 1, wherein atransmission antenna of the wireless transmission system is configuredto operate based on an operating frequency of about 6.78 MHz.
 10. Thesensing system of claim 1, wherein a transmission antenna of thewireless transmission system is configured to operate based on anoperating frequency of about 13.56 MHz.
 11. A system for wirelesslyreceiving data from a sensor and wirelessly providing the sensor withmeaningful electrical energy, the sensor configured to determine sensordata associated with a fluid chamber, the system comprising: a wirelesstransmission system configured to wirelessly couple with a wirelessreceiver system of the sensor when the wireless receiver system iscontained within the fluid chamber, the wireless transmission systemconfigured for wirelessly providing significant electrical energy to thesensor as wireless power signals and receive the sensor data as in-banddata signals encoded in the wireless power signals; and a controlleroperatively associated with the wireless transmission system configuredto decode the in-band data signals from the wireless power signals asthe sensor data.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the sensor isconfigured to determine a fluid level within the fluid chamber.
 13. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the sensor data includes fluid level dataassociated with the fluid chamber.
 14. The system of claim 11, whereinthe wireless transmission system includes: a transmitter antennaconfigured to couple with a receiver antenna of the wireless receiversystem and transmit alternating current (AC) wireless signals to thereceiver antenna, the AC wireless signals including the wireless powersignals and the in-band data signals, the in-band data signals generatedby altering electrical characteristics of the AC wireless signals at thewireless receiver system; a current sensor configured to detectelectrical information associated with the electrical characteristics ofthe AC wireless signals, the electrical information including one ormore of a current of the AC wireless signals, a voltage of the ACwireless signals, a power level of the AC wireless signals, orcombinations thereof; and a demodulation circuit configured to (i)receive the electrical information from the current sensor, (ii) detecta change in the electrical information, (iii) determine if the change inthe electrical information meets or exceeds one of a rise threshold or afall threshold, (iv) if the change exceeds one of the rise threshold orthe fall threshold, generate an alert, (v) and output a plurality ofdata alerts.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the controller isconfigured to (i) receive the plurality of data alerts from thedemodulation circuit, and (ii) decode the plurality of data alerts intothe sensor data.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the in-band datasignals are encoded by the wireless receiver system as amplitude shiftkeying (ASK) data signals.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein thesensor includes a temperature sensor.
 18. The system of claim 17,wherein the sensor data includes temperature data associated with thefluid chamber.
 19. The system of claim 11, wherein a transmissionantenna of the wireless transmission system is configured to operatebased on an operating frequency of about 6.78 MHz.
 20. The system ofclaim 11, wherein a transmission antenna of the wireless transmissionsystem is configured to operate based on an operating frequency of about13.56 MHz.